November a Good Month for North Dakota Oil

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Oil production is at an all-time high in North Dakota, and the residents are supportive, according to R3 Sciences.

Most people in North Dakota support their state's oil industry.

"It's pretty clear from the data that North Dakotans are widely supportive of the oil and gas industry and they recognize the important role it plays in the state's economy," Erik Iverson, vice-president of Moore Information, said in a news release.

(PRWEB)April 10, 2014

Every month, North Dakota is moving closer to the milestone of producing one million barrels of oil per day.

In November, the state pumped out an average of 973,045 barrels on a daily basis, which not only represents a 3 percent increase over the previous month, but is also closer to that benchmark than ever before. This is according to a release by the Department of Mineral Resources. North Dakota now features 10,023 productive wells, the first time it has ever had more than 10,000. The Bakken and Three Forks formations are particularly important: while they have just two thirds of the wells, they account for over 90 percent of the actual production.

The November figures were partially supported by unusually warm temperatures, which allowed for more drilling activity to take place. While December was a significantly chillier month, the overall outlook for the year's end remains strongly positive.

One of the key ancillary industries is rail transport. More than 70 percent of the state's oil is transported via rail, an amount that's steadily increasing due to market forces. Thus, a secondary benefit of oil production is continued rail growth, as well as the employment opportunities that come along with it.

Flare gas recovery also has that section of the energy economy thriving, with North Dakota producing over 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in November. That figure represents another all-time high for the state.

This all isn't just positive tidings for the oil and gas industries. Residents are also fully onboard with these developments, with 83 percent of North Dakotans in non-oil patch communities voting strongly in favor of oil development in a recent poll. That percentage is just slightly lower, at 80, for those living in counties that do produce oil. The survey was conducted by research firm Moore Information, and questioned nearly 800 people.

That both of those figures are so high suggests that improvements in hydraulic fracturing equipment and environmentally friendly drilling fluid really work. Not only is oil production more efficient, it's less obtrusive to people in the vicinity, who are clearly appreciative.

A big part of the support for the industry is related to the jobs and revenues it creates. Tax revenue from oil is about $240 million monthly, a number which doesn't even account for revenues from the jobs created. When surveyed, state residents cited education, road and highway improvements and reducing property taxes as the things that they were most hoping that money would be spent on.

"It's pretty clear from the data that North Dakotans are widely supportive of the oil and gas industry and they recognize the important role it plays in the state's economy," Erik Iverson, vice-president of Moore Information, said in a news release. "At the same time folks also see progress being made on issues like flaring and want to see their tax dollars going toward improving the state's schools and infrastructure."

R3 Sciences is excited to continue to contribute to an industry that so many affected people are so enthusiastic about.